Negron’s Coaching Experience Welcomed To Pirates Staff

Kristopher Negron is among the fresh faces on Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly’s 2026 coaching staff.

It’s never easy being among the new folks, either in school, on the job, or in a neighborhood. In Major League Baseball, fitting in and, at the same time, making one’s mark with the established crew without seeming “pushy” requires patience and confidence. This past spring training season gave new Pirates bench coach Kristopher Negron the opportunity to weave into the organization’s fabric.

After coaching first and third base for the Seattle Mariners for the past four seasons, Negron decided to take his skills east to Pennsylvania.

“It definitely was a difficult decision (moving from Seattle). I was able to manage at Triple-A (Tacoma) in 2021. Then I got to the major league staff in 2022,” Negron said. “But, getting to know Donnie (Kelly), and the conversations throughout the process with him and Ben (Pirates’ general manager Ben Cherington) and the whole coaching staff made my decision much easier.”

Prior to Negron’s interviewing for Pittsburgh’s bench position, the same position Kelly held for six seasons until being named the team’s skipper after Derek Shelton’s dismissal last May; he had never had a conversation with his future field boss.

“We talked family, we talked baseball, we talked a little bit about everything. After just one conversation I definitely knew I wanted to go through the process and get to know him and the organization better.”

Arriving at Pirate City in February had a déjà vu twist for Negron. He hadn’t been to the club’s facility since 2006, after being drafted by the Boston Red Sox. Negron’s first 41 professional games were played for Boston’s Gulf Coast League squad. GCL games are played on one of the fields at Pirate City.

Negron isn’t alone this season when it comes to coaching orientation. Among the newest members of Kelly’s staff are third base coach Tony Beasley, pitching coach Bill Murphy, and assistant pitching coach Cibney Bello.

When flying last December to Pittsburgh for a short visit and being oriented to the organization after making connections with his fellow coaches, Negron says he kept in touch with them throughout the winter.

“Everybody was welcoming and inviting”, says Negron, who finished his 14-year playing career in 2019 while playing 30 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Coaching wasn’t initially on Negron’s radar once he hung up his cleats. It was Andy McKay, this season’s field coordinator for the Cleveland Guardians, while in the Mariners’ front office, who encouraged Negron to think of coaching as his next step in baseball.

McKay first served Seattle as its director of player development, and in 2022 promoted him to assistant general manager.

“When I retired, Andy called and said that he thought I would be good at coaching. He put his trust in me and helped me grow. I’m forever in his debt,” Negron said.

Bringing his successful season managing in Tacoma (Rainiers were Triple-A West Champions and Negron was named Triple-A West manager of the year), along with four seasons of seeing the game from an MLB coach’s box, could only be beneficial to Kelly’s growth as a manager. Negron, like most coaches, misses playing the game and remembers how hard it is to excel at.

With the Pirates off to a winning start, at 7-4 leading up to Wednesday’s game at PNC Park with the San Diego Padres, for Negron and his fellow coaches, practices that they have been preaching since February are bringing positive results in the standings. As Kelly’s confidante at arm’s length in the Pirates’ dugout for the 162-game schedule, Negron’s presence already is yielding positive results. The collective contribution by all coaches is making Kelly’s job that much sweeter.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Kristopher Negron.